As one of the principal officers in the 10th National Assembly, Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume has said he received more than the N200m allocation his colleagues and floor members got for constituency projects in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“My colleagues know that I go more than them (floor members),” the Senator from Borno South Senatorial District said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
Ndume responded to allegations by Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe from Cross River North that some senators got a total of N500 million each from the 2024 Budget for constituency projects.
Agom-Jarigbe had on Tuesday, during a story session in Abuja, made the startling disclosure while the lawmakers debated budget padding claims by Senator Abdul Ningi from Bauchi Central Senatorial District.
Ningi had said N3.7trn was not tied to any project in the 2024 N28.7trn budget and he was suspended for three months.
Agom-Jarigbe had alleged that some Senators are guilty of such practice, adding that some senior senators got N500 million each from the 2024 Appropriation Act.
Asked whether the claim by Agom-Jarigbe was true, Ndume said, “It’s disparity now, we are not the same; all animals are equal but some are more equal than the other. That’s what the case is. They have agreed to that.
“All the senators have N200m (each) as their constituency projects but I am a leader. That is the difference. 10 of us are leaders including those in the opposition. We get more than the floor members. It’s normal.
“That decision is taken by the senators. We had the Senate Budget Committee before but now the floor members entrusted that to the presiding officers. That’s the difference. So, most of the senators don’t know what I get and I will not tell you.”
Reacting to the security challenges in the country, Senator Ndume urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to withdraw orderlies attached to his colleagues and other politicians in the country.
“I support that they should take away all their police (officers). One Senator will be going around with 10 policemen, seven members of the House of Reps, everybody. That is for those who are mobile. Some even give security to their wives, while others give security to their children. I am against that.”
Ndume said Nigeria, with about 300,000 policemen, does not have enough to police the country, hence, orderlies of VIPs be withdrawn to protect the people.
